


Mended

by Elsey8



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Akechi Goro Lives, Comfort, Everybody Lives, Fluff, Forgiveness, Haru and Goro centered, Healing, Late Night Conversations, Light Angst, M/M, Platonic Relationships, Roadtrip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:28:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26904400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elsey8/pseuds/Elsey8
Summary: One late night during the roadtrip to bring Akira home, Haru asks Goro a question that changes everything."Goro?"The simple name jumpstarts a question that will dig up both of their pasts, bringing into light both of their feelings regarding one another and forcing them to confront the idea of forgiveness.
Relationships: Akechi Goro & Okumura Haru, Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, mentioned, platonic - Relationship
Comments: 12
Kudos: 117





	Mended

The last thing Goro wanted to do after almost dying, defeating his father, defeating god, and breaking his boyfriend out of jail was to be stuck in a car with Futaba, who’s mother he killed, and Haru, who’s father he killed. Not that he blames either of  _ them  _ for that, but he feels like he has to tiptoe around them constantly. He doesn’t want to remind them, to hurt them by saying something that teeters too far on a line. It forces him to stay quiet with them, hoping as long as he doesn’t say anything at all, he can’t hurt them just by existing. Although he’s sure he finds a way anyway. He almost didn’t want to go at all. 

However, more than that he couldn’t possibly just...not go on the ride with everyone. They were bringing Akira home, and it was the last bit of time they could spend together before he would be gone for the summer. Hopefully it would just be the summer, and Akira could convince his parents he’d be better off finishing school at Shujin Academy. Goro wouldn’t exactly be the best boyfriend if he ditched that just because he didn’t want to interact with Haru and Futaba out of his own guilt. 

It’s fine, though. Futaba, Haru, and Morgana are all in the back row, so he doesn’t even have to look at them. Makoto is driving, and Goro would trust her ability to keep focus driving through anything, especially after her driving through Mementos in the Mona bus. Ann is in the front seat with her, although her main function is playing music and pointing out things in the scenery as they pass by. Goro is pretty sure that him, Ryuji, Yusuke, and Akira all in the middle row is illegal, because he’s definitely not wearing a seatbelt, and he’s mostly on Akira’s lap, but that’s also fine. Being so crowded, the music in the background, the chatter, it all serves as a wonderful distraction. He doesn’t need to look in the backseat, at Futaba, who looks so much like her mother. Or at Haru, who doesn’t look like her father at all, but who certainly looks at him with the disdain that he looks like his.

It’s Ann who seems to fall asleep first, head suddenly falling against the window and her call outs as they pass fields and about certain cars fades out. Then Akira shifts, moving so he can rest his head on Goro’s shoulder. It isn’t much longer before he’s falling asleep. Ryuji lets his head fall back as he sits and passes out just like that. Yusuke, sitting by the window, rests his elbow on the door and his cheek on his palm. He falls asleep like that. He isn’t sure about the backseat, but he thinks he hears Futaba snore softly, and Morgana’s incessant chatter ceases. 

Eventually, Makoto is the only one still awake. Goro is staring out the window at the endless expanses of nothing but road and trees, Akira still fast asleep on his shoulder. Morgana has moved up to lay on Akira’s lap, and all is quiet. 

“Goro?”

That would be Haru, apparently not asleep. He turns his head to the best of his ability and only barely catches sight of her curly hair, until she leans forward and he can kind of see her eyes in the darkness. He tries to move Akira a little bit so he can shift enough to face her. He’s surprised she’s using his given name. But she’s always tried to be nice like that. 

“Yes?”

“Why are you ignoring me?”

Goro feels his face get hot, and just barely keeps eye contact, only because he’s comforted in the fact that she can’t see his face very well either. It’s too dark for her to distinguish his features that clearly, even with the street lights and the moon. 

“I...well I just. I thought that’s what you wanted.”

Haru blinks a few times, then shifts and leans forward more. Her face is mere inches from his. Too close, but now he can see her so clearly it’s a little weird. 

“Do you realize I don’t blame you?” she whispers, casting her gaze towards the front seat for a moment. 

Makoto drives on, hopefully oblivious to this conversation. And everyone else is asleep. 

“You don’t?”

“I don’t. I mean, I did.” She looks away for just a moment, then back. “I was really angry when I first found out. But I rationalized it, and I realized that in the end you were just...impressionable. And maybe at first you were kind of like me, and you just couldn’t see that things weren’t right.”

Haru takes a deep breath, and then she laughs very quietly. A puff of air out of her mouth. She shakes her head. Her eyes betray how vulnerable she’s being. She smiles, a little. It only sort of reaches her eyes. 

“Well, that’s just what I think anyway,” she murmurs. 

“I think...and it doesn’t excuse the things I did, but I think I was scared,” he admits, because she was vulnerable first. “No, I know I was. I was terrified, once I realized what was going on. By then, it was too late, I was too far in. I just...leaned into it, because I felt there was no other choice. My plan was never going to work, and I think I knew that. I think I was just trying to justify it.”

“I probably could’ve been just like you,” Haru says.

She’s so close that Goro can feel her breath every time she speaks. There’s something secretive about this, everyone asleep, the world asleep. Goro thinks he wouldn’t share these things otherwise.

“You couldn’t have,” he says. “Because deep inside, there was part of me that liked it. That would’ve done anything for the praise and attention I was given. You don’t have that ugly thing in you. That’s all me.”

“I still would’ve,” Haru says, firmer. “Because I don’t have that, but I was too scared to say no. If my father had me do the things he did, I would’ve, blindly. That’s  _ my  _ ugly part.”

Goro smiles, and he can vaguely see the shape of Haru’s grin in the dark as well. Somehow, he feels slightly torn open at the moment, but it doesn’t hurt. He feels relieved, actually. Like he’s being allowed to let something go that he’s held onto for way too long. 

"I didn't think that would work,” she says.

“What?”

“Just being upfront, confronting you. That’s...that’s wild.” She giggles. “Imagine that, me, confrontational. And it actually worked.”

“That’s the only way to get through to me,” he says. “I mean it took you guys almost killing me for me to come to your side, didn’t it?”

“Noted.”

Goro hesitates slightly, then gently moves Akira so he’s laying against Ryuji instead. 

“Do you think I’ll wake Futaba up if I climb back there?” he asks. “And or do you think Makoto will notice and get mad?”

She shifts to the middle seat in the back row, glancing towards the front of the car. She presses a finger to her lips, so Goro decides he doesn’t care and slowly puts a leg over the back of his seat. Once his foot touches something solid he lets himself fall back, and gets himself comfortable sitting next to Haru. 

Now there’s no barrier between them when Haru gets close again. He sees how her curls bounce when she moves, the strands of hair that fall in her face, the slight mark leftover from a pimple, the thread that’s coming loose on her sweater. 

“When we go back home, when Akira is gone, what will you do?” she asks him. 

Her closeness doesn’t feel weird anymore, and actually he finds himself relaxing. Futaba snores, shifts, and then quiets again. 

Goro shifts his gaze, until the streetlights start to hurt his eyes. Then he finds the answer to give to her. 

“I don’t know,” he admits. “I don’t have any of the things I did. Losing all of that, I gained a spot with the Phantom Thieves. Akira became my new everything, a new obsession. I’m glad I’m being forced to spend time not physically with him. It means I have to figure out where I’m going now.” 

“Do you have a plan?”

“Not really. I got lucky keeping my job, and I owe that entirely to Sae. But aside from that, I really don't know what I’m doing. I don’t know if detective work is what I want to do forever, I’m not sure if I want to go to college or anything...” Goro shrugs a little helplessly. “I don’t know where to step next.”

“I mean you love being a detective, don’t you?” Haru reaches up and tucks some hair behind her ear. “I feel like puzzling things out suits you. From what I can tell, at least.”

“I do, I guess I’m just scared I’m not good at it. Not without my whole cheating thing, anyway. I don’t know.”

“If you like it, I think you should do it. Whatever makes you happy, you should pursue it.”

“You’re probably right,” he sighs. “I know you are.”   
“Thank you, I’m always right.”

The confidence in her voice is entirely false, and she laughs right after she says it. But she has been right a lot tonight. Goro doesn’t want to lean away from her, but he’s tired of being twisted. He just moves his whole body to face her. She watches him do it, then mirrors the action. 

“Hi,” she greets.

“Hey.”

“Other than that, what will you do?” she presses.

“What else is there to do?”

She looks at him in slight alarm. 

“Well, go to therapy for one probably. Make other friends, interact with people. Figuring out what to do about your whole Detective Prince persona. You know, that kinda stuff.”

“Oh, I mean...it’s fine isn’t it?”

“Uh, no.” Haru gently hits his shoulder. “It isn’t fine. You’ll never get better if you don’t let people in.”

“Well I’m working on it, yeah? I let you in.”

Haru gasps, the surprise fanning over her features before she settles into a smile. 

“Does that mean we’re friends?”

“If you want to be,” he murmurs. “I know the things I’ve done to you are inexcusable, and I don’t deserve--”   
“We’re friends,” she cheers quietly. “Once we get back home, I think you should come over so I can show you my house. You will  _ love  _ the library. Plus the temperature is pretty nice, it still gets cool at nice so we could have a fire in my backyard.”

“Is that something you’d want to do? With me?

“Obviously. Why else would I ask you?” she dismisses easily. “It’ll be nice, I think. You don’t have to, though.”

“No, no. I actually…”

Goro feels like he can actually see the space between them. What seemed like a chasm was just a tiny step forward. He’s seen Haru behead too many shadows with a sick smile to completely trust her sweet persona in person. But at the same time, she’s grinning at him openly. She laughed with him, made the room for him to sit next to her. She’s pushing the conversation forward, pressing him to continue to include her in his life even after Akira is gone. Opening it up to more than the very backseat of this car he thinks Haru pulled some strings to get for them. 

She’s extending her hand, no more questions asked. He wants to take it. 

“What will you do, after?” he asks her first. “I just want to know that.”

“This. Keep my friends close, and work on my business. Now that it’s entirely my own and I don’t have to worry about my ex-fiance, it’s like I feel like I can do anything. That’s partly why I started this conversation with you, tonight.”

“Alright. I count as a friend now, huh?”   
“You sure do!”

“I actually...would really enjoy doing something casual like that with you. If you’ll have me.”

He takes the hand she’s offering without another word. 

**Author's Note:**

> Follow my Twitter @Elliott70052503  
> And support my Patreon! Here's the link: https://www.patreon.com/Elsey8?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=creatorshare  
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